St. Petersburg

As some of you may know, the third language I'm studying (after English and German) is Russian. I started learning Russian in High School where it was an optional subject. We had a great teacher who travels to Russia with her students every other year, and last year we've been to St. Petersburg.

I organized the six day trip myself, together with two of my classmates, because it was our graduation project. It took us months to select a destination, to book the flights and the hostel, to apply for the visas, etc. and the closer the date of our departure came, the more excited we got.

Russia is a really cool country, although I admit that it's probably not to everybody's taste. The first time I've been there and saw the run-down suburbs of Moscow with their shabby Soviet-era buildings, I thought "Why did I even come here?" But only a little while later I had fallen in love.

The Russian people are unique, some of them in a crazy way, but I like (most) of them a lot. Going out at night is always great fun, because everybody drinks a lot, dances, and even sings. The Russians really know how to party!

We finally left for St. Petersburg in the last days of March of 2012, together with about 20 other Russian students and our teacher. Our hostel was located in the very center of the city, so most of the famous sights were within walking distance, like the Hermitage, the Winter Palace, or the Admiralty. And see a lot of sights we did.

One of the many things I love about Russia is the food. Many dishes are prepared with sour cream and taste really good, the meals are good and solid, and the servings are not too big (this may be a seen as a negative point by some people, but I'm a small person and like to still have room for dessert after the main course.)

Our teacher is very laid-back and gave us lots of time to explore St. Petersburg on our own. She also didn't mind if we went out at night, as long as we didn't wake her up when we came back. And we went out to party every single evening. Usually we went to small bars and clubs near our hostel, and one night we went to the Metro Club, the biggest club of St. Petersburg and one of the biggest of Eastern Europe. Needless to say our mostly female group had a great time there, after the entire club had four or five stories and male strippers to offer. The ride to the club had already been adventurous. Six of us plus the driver squeezed ourselves into an old Lada, but the driver only asked for half of what the official taxis would have charged us, so it was a good deal.

Our graduation project was a huge success, because everybody enjoyed the trip and had a great time. During my time in St. Petersburg I decided that I would study Russian instead of Spanish, because I love this crazy country and its people. I'm already looking forward to my next vacation in Russia, either next summer or in spring 214 at the very latest.

California Dreaming Part Two

After our brief stay in Monterey we went on to our next to last destination: Los Angeles. The first thing we did was to venture out of our motel in the Hollywood Hills to discover the north of the city. The sun shone on our heads while we strolled down Sunset Boulevard and enjoyed the sights, like the famous Grauman's Chinese Theater.

On our second day in LA we went to see Disneyland. At first I hadn't really wanted to go there, because I had rather spent the day exploring the city, but my boyfriend eventually convinced me to go. In the end I was glad that we went there, because we did have a lot fun.

After dusk we drove to Mulholland Drive from where we had an incredible view over the whole city. We stood next to the street in the chilly night-air and enjoyed the vista over the sprawling city beneath us. I was surprised that there were hardly any people up there, but on the other hand we wouldn't have gone there either if a waiter hadn't tipped us off. Another great viewpoint is the top-level of the Los Angeles town hall, from where we could see for miles in every direction.

In Malibu we finally managed to spend a few hours on the beach, although the water was too cold for me to go for a swim. Instead I lay down in the warm sand and watched my boyfriend getting nearly crushed by the huge waves.

After getting tired of (sun) bathing we decided to check out another one of our waiter's suggestions, the Santa Monica Pier. It's a long pier leading out into the Pacific Ocean with a fun fair on it. It also houses shops that offer milkshakes, ice cream, and other delicious food stuff.

That evening we followed the Sunset Boulevard in the opposite direction, and there was a surprisingly high number of tattoo- and sexshops to be found. Needless to say that we soon turned back.

Our last full day in LA led us to the Universal Studios. I was rendered speechless by how realistic and cool some of their rides were. I especially loved the Simpsons ride, because I'm a huge Simpsons-fan.

On our last day we drove to Griffith Park in the early morning, but unfortunately it was the day they flew the space shuttle to LA, so what felt like the whole city was up there trying to see the plane carrying the shuttle. Therefore the roads were closed and we didn't have enough time to walk up, because we had a six hour drive back to Phoenix ahead of us. 

California Dreaming Part One

In the course of my absolutely fantastic journey through the southwestern states of the USA last September I also spent a week in California. This post is about the towns of Bishop, Monterey and Carmel, as well as the Yosemite NP, the next post will be about Los Angeles. San Francisco has its own post, so I won't write about it again :)

After Las Vegas we originally wanted to go straight to San Francisco, but that would have been a long and hard drive, so we decided to spend the night in a small town in the east of California called Bishop. It was a nice town, not quite picturesque, but pretty. In the evening we had dinner in a Steak House that the receptionist of our motel had recommended to us and there I experienced the happiest moment of my life. They offer a dessert called the "Brownie Monster" (picture below), and that thing keeps what it promises. The Brownie Monster turned out to be a huge bowl filled with brownies that had an estimated gallon of chocolate syrup and whipped cream on top of it. I managed to eat about three quarters of it, then I was hopelessly sick but I can't remember being any happier in all my life.

The next morning we left for the Yosemite National Park and on our way there we "accidentally" discovered a gem of the Eastern Californian Mountains: the Mammoth Lakes. Around a dozen small and crystal-clear lakes are embedded between green hills and we watched people in little boats or kayaks while we were strolling along the shores. Unfortunately we couldn't spend too much time there, but the next time I'm in that area I'll definitely go there again.

The Yosemite NP is a beautiful place too, but when we got there the Yosemite Falls had already dried up because there had been little snow in the past winter. We tried to see the Nevada Falls instead, but the road leading to them was closed and we decided against walking there, because we still had to drive on to San Francisco. So we just enjoyed the gorgeous panorama of the mountains and that of a few more lakes before we pressed on.

After our three days in San Francisco and the not-so-nice weather there, we finally went south again. We followed the Highway No 1 to Monterey where we spent the night. Monterey is the home of the world's biggest aquarium, but we rather took the 17-Mile-Drive to visit the neighboring town of Carmel. Actually, we had planned to spend a day on the beach, but the bad weather had followed us from San Francisco, and so we visited an old Spanish monastery instead. I was quite impressed that the four-century-old building was still in such a good state.

Monument Valley

Before we even left for the USA, Monument Valley was one of the sights I looked most forward to, because it is one of the things that first come to you mind when you think about America. Well, I wasn't going to be disappointed.

Our motel was located in Kayenta, the town that's nearest to the Valley. The town itself was pretty run-down. Two or three motels, a McDonald's, a Burger King, and a supermarket were the main attractions there. Moreover, it was awfully hot there, so my first action was to go and buy SPF 50 sun protection that kept being useful in Las Vegas and Los Angeles. According to my boyfriend though, the worst thing about Kayenta was that it's located on Navajo land, where the sale and purchase of alcohol - including beer - is strictly prohibited.

Monument Valley itself is a must-see! Everybody knows one or two of the rock formations from western movies, but there's so much more, like ancient pictograms or pueblos.

We did a three-hour jeep tour in the evening and luckily we had an awesome guide who showed us a lot of marvelous hidden places. One of the best things was that we had our guide completely to ourselves, while other groups consisted of 10 or more people. In the end of our tour we met up with a second small group in a huge dome of rock. There our guide played the flute and the guide of the other group sang traditional songs. That was one of the most beautiful moments of the whole journey!

For the next day we booked a horseback-riding tour that led us around some of the large buttes on Mustangs. It was my first time sitting on a horse, and although it was a great experience my back still hurt three days later. Nevertheless, I would do it again right now if I could. Riding by the famous rock formations on horseback like John Wayne did in his movies is a unique and indescribable feeling, and once more we had an excellent guide. We started the tour in the early morning so we could see the sunrise after we had already seen the sunset the day before. The different colors the sun paints the rocks in are absolutely breathtaking! And thanks to my newly acquired sun protection I survived this adventure without third degree burns.

Viva Las Vegas!

Las Vegas is one of the most amazing places I've ever been to. We arrived there in the late morning and I was already pretty impressed, but Vegas during the daytime is nothing compared to Vegas by night! Everything is basked into bright, colorful lights, people crowd the streets and there are so incredibly many possibilities that you'd need weeks and weeks to explore the whole town.

During my stay in Vegas I wasn't 21 yet and therefore I couldn't legally drink or gamble, but maybe that wasn't too bad after all, because I'm a poor student and who knows how much money I would have lost. However, the Casinos are really impressive; some are even picturesque with their different themes and the entire beautiful decor. We stayed at the Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino and they had memorabilia of movies in all the rooms, but their casino resembled a somewhat classy brothel. I preferred the Bellagio or the Caesar’s Palace.

I also liked the dry heat there and with SPF 50 sun protection I didn't even burst in flames. But on our second day, Las Vegas experienced a record precipitation - our good luck!

But if you travel to the USA then DO GO TO LAS VEGAS!!!

Amazing Arizona

Last September I spent about one week in Arizona and I was absolutely stunned by the diverse beauty of this state. From deserts to green mountain slopes you can find everything there, however the most incredible feature of Arizona's landscape are the rock formations and, of course, the Grand Canyon.

Our first stop after Phoenix, where we arrived but unfortunately didn't spend much time, was the Montezuma's Castle National Monument.

Montezuma's Castle is a village hewn into rock that housed a tribe of natives hundreds of years ago. I was fascinated that they were able to build something like this monument with the technical means of their time.

Sedona is a small western-style town in the heart of the Grand Canyon State that's definitely worth a visit. Embedded in a marvellous rock valley, Sedona mainly consists of wooden houses that line up along the main street that leads through the town. On both sides of this street there are small shops and restaurants. I admit that it's a bit touristy, but beautiful nevertheless. It's also really hot there. We arrived in Sedona around noon and after having looked around a bit we fled into an air-conditioned restaurant whith a glass wall through which we had a great view over the mountains.

When I first stood on the edge of the Grand Canyon the enormity and the view took my breath away. I had imagined it to be big, but I had no idea it would be that huge! All I could see for miles on in every direction was red and orange stone and down in the deep I could just make out the Colorado River. The next day we flew over the Canyon in a helicopter and I was once again taken aback by the beauty and the sheer size of it. Near the eastern edge of the Grand Canyon National Park there is an ancient Watchtower built by Native Americans centuries ago. You can climb up and enjoy the view from the top and inside you can see arts and crafts produced by the people who built the tower.

During our visit to the Grand Canyon we stayed in Tusayan, the village nearest to the Visitor's Center of the National Park. It mainly consists of hotels and fast food restaurants, but there's also an excellent Steak House where we dined once, as well as a trading post that offers a lot of souvenirs and other stuff.

Since we travelled by car we were able to see a lot of Arizona's stunning and varied landscape and I'm very grateful for the experience.

Three Days in San Francisco

The most entertaining place I have ever been to is San Francisco.
What I liked best about the City on the Bay is the waterfront with Fisherman’s Wharf and Pier 39. I loved strolling along the Pier feeling the salty breeze in my hair while admiring all the adorable little shops and restaurants.
People were having fun everywhere. I closed my eyes and listened to the laughter of children coming from a small fun fair, the chatter of countless tourists and the conversations of seagulls and sea lions. The delicious smell of seafood followed me and made me feel hungry. In fact, I constantly held something edible in my hands: a cup of clam chowder, a bag of yummy popcorn or just a fruit smoothie.
Standing at the end of Pier 39 I marveled at the fantastic view across the Bay, taking in the Golden Gate Bridge on over to Alcatraz. Down at waterfront there are so many things to do, and so many sensations to experience that I could never write all of them down.
Despite the surprisingly cold weather, San Francisco is a fun city where you will never get bored

Christmas Madness

Today, January 6th, marks the end of this year's Christmas Time. That's too bad because it means college starts again tomorrow and I'm not thrilled by the prospect of getting up at 7:30 a.m. partly because the holidays haven't been that relaxing for me.

The Christmas Madness started the week before the big day, when I discovered thad I had less than a week to buy all the presents. I spent hours in downtown Graz and in several malls trying to find nice and somewhat suitable gifts for my friends and family. Whenever I thought I was done, somebody I had forgotten came to my mind and the next day I was off again on the present-hunt. Needless to say that the stores were crowded as hell, since the whole town seemed to be doing some last-minute Christmas shopping.

On Sunday, December 23rd, I went home to Upper-Austria. I arrived in the late afternoon and spent the rest of the day wrapping all the presents I had gathered the week before.
The next day I went to my parents' house right in the morning. It took us most of the day to decorate the tree and the house until we finally gathered under the tree at around 6 p.m. Afterwards some relatives came by to visit us, which is usually exhausting rather than delighting.

December 25th is my birthday. My boyfriend's gift for me was a two-day skiing-trip to Schladming. It was the best gift I got and I was really excited about it, because skiing is the only sport I do voluntarily, except for swimming maybe.

Thursday and Friday were two of my far-too-few relax days. On Saturday I celebrated my birthday with my friends from high-school. Hours of celebrating (and drinking of course) with my best friends and encounters with my very favorite colleagues left me completely and utterly wasted and therefore I spent the whole Sunday in bed with a headache to give me company.

New Year's Eve we spent in a little hut, that belongs to my boyfriend's relatives, together with some friends. No internet up there and hardly a phone signal. But I had a few quiet hours there, because all the others hiked up to a bigger hut which of course I wasn't interested in taking part in. I'm far too lazy for something like that.

On January first we decided to have lunch together which effectively ended at 5 p.m. The next day we went to a spa in order to relax from the hardships of constant celebration - much to my liking!

On Thursday I didn't really do anything either. I was busy enjoying not having to go anywhere or engage in any activities, so I basically spent the day with a book and the TV remote control.
Friday evening my godmother was due to visit me and therefore I had to spend the afternoon in search of a late Christmas-present for her.
Saturday was more pleasant by far, because I was with my best friend for most of the day.
Sunday on the other hand turned out to be less pleasant, since I finally remembered that I had actually planned to get some work for the university done and to start studying for my upcoming exams. But as you can plainly see from above there was absolutely no time for that.

I'll pack up my stuff now, because my train back to Graz leaves in less than an hour. My first course tomorrow starts at 8:15 a.m. so I don't want to arrive home too late. Although a part of me is glad that the Christmas (and Birthday) madness is over now, I feel mostly sorry that the holidays have passed so quickly.

Meet my hometown - Steyr

Steyr is a town in Upper Austia with roughly 40,000 inhabitants. It is famous for its beautiful medieval town center. The oldest houses there were built in the 12th century.
A surprisingly high number of tourists comes here every year and the town center is also where you go if you want to go out. But don't expect too much - if you want to party hard, better go somewhere else.
You can also find lots of restaurants, boutiques, and other little shops there, along with big electronics- and bookstores. In summer, the restaurants build up terraces right on the town square so you can enjoy the atmosphere while eating. 

The other thing Steyr is famous for are the industrial plants. Many large companies have production sites in Steyr, like BMW, MAN, or SKF.
The BMW plant in Steyr is the biggest engine production facility of the company and employs more than 3,000 people which makes BMW the biggest employer in the whole region. Even I work there every summer and I love it (seriously, I do.)

Actually, Steyr is not where I've lived in the past years, but I was born there and went to school there. My hometown offers a lot of different school types, for example a business school (my high school), a technical school, and several grammar schools. There's also a University of Applied Sciences, but they don't offer any courses I would be interested in.

I hope you all enjoyed reading about my hometown and maybe we'll meet there next summer!